1. Field of the Invention
The present invention deals with the field of linear motion devices and specifically with linear "pick and place" devices which are particularly designed to grasp an article at one location move upward then laterally transfer the article to a new location and move downward and then release the article. Then the translator moves upwardly and initiates the cycle again. Many types of such X,Y movement devices exist within the prior art including self-contained X,Y movements, linear pick and place devices, hand-over-hand feeds, X,Y positioning and feed devices and the like.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Examples of prior art devices are given in Patents Nos. 524,676 (British); and U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,809,430; 2,350,334; 2,621,967; 2,687,649 and 4,052,898.
The most pertinent patent is British Patent Specification No. 524,676 which discloses an improvement relating to a driving gear for locomotives or other vehicles and engines. This device shows a basic square cam driving a vertically movable pin therein wherein the pin is radially reciprocal with respect to the drive shaft of the crank. This device does not include the combination of the lift cam and mounting system as claimed in the present invention.
Other prior art devices specifically used for linear pick and place devices are normally arrangements of complex mechanical interactions between barrel cams and linear placing horizontally extending parallel shafts. The present invention provides a novel device for "pick and place" which achieves this by a combination of a lift cam and a plate cam which in cooperation achieve the end result of the standard barrel cam pick and place devices but with increased efficiency and reliability.